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Life after return: Long-term reintegration after assisted departure from Germany , , Accompanying study II on the federal StarthilfePlus programme
Source: IOM
Research Report 42 analyses the long-term reintegration of migrants who left Germany and received assistance from the federal government's "StarthilfePlus" programme. The Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) conducted interviews with returnees in several countries.
In 2017, the reintegration assistance programme "StarthilfePlus" was implemented to support destitute migrants, including those obliged to leave the country, by providing flexible assistance for voluntary return. The BAMF Research Centre and IOM accompanied the programme from 2017 onwards in a multi-year scientific research project. In 2019, the first analyses and findings from this research project were published in the form of the research report "Assisted Return from Germany: Motives and Reintegration" (StarthilfePlus Study I).
The recent research report (StarthilfePlus Study II) analyses long-term reintegration processes based on two successive surveys of returnees. The first one was conducted approximately eight months after they return and the second one approximately three years after return. The interviews took place in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Georgia, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. In order to gain deeper insights into the perspectives of returned women, 20 additional qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in Armenia, Iraq and Lebanon.
Key results
Overall satisfaction with the Starthilfe Plus programme is high
The vast majority of returnees are satisfied with the federal programme "StarthilfePlus". The satisfaction with the support that they have received persist over time: Three years after returning, more than four out of five respondents are satisfied with the StarthilfePlus support that they have obtained. The assistance provided is particularly important for meeting daily needs as well as for housing and healthcare. Along with financial support, the respondents consider factual assistance, for example in finding gainful employment, to be helpful.
Reintegration improves over time. However, unfavourable circumstances, such as an unstable security situation in some countries, make life after return more difficult.
Over time, an increasing number of the surveyed returnees earn income from dependent or self-employed occupation. A majority of respondents are satisfied with their social setting/ environment and relationships in the long term. Despite these positive results, respondents continue to report a variety of challenges. For example, the income generated is often insufficient to cover daily needs for both self and family. In some countries, satisfaction with the security situation has declined over time. In addition, many respondents have limited trust in state structures and some returnees do not have access to public services in all countries.
Women face specific obstacles when it comes to reintegration
Around 38 percent of women earn an income from employment, in contrast to 75 percent of men. In qualitative interviews, however, the majority of women express the desire for an autonomously earned income, which is made more difficult for them in everyday life by higher access barriers to the labour market. In the interviews, women in Iraq and Lebanon clearly address gender-specific restrictions and prejudices encountered in public life. This reflective perspective is evidence of a high motivation to seek to better their own living situation.
This Research report was written by: Christian Kothe, Lukas Otte (IOM), Dominique Reischl (IOM), Şeyma Uluköylü (IOM), Tatjana Baraulina and Franziska Clevers (IOM)
The full research report is available on the IOM website.